Mediterranean Sea Level and Bathymetry of the Deep Basins During the Salt Giant Deposition: Inference from Seismic and Litho-Facies

Abstract

The partial sequestration of the Mediterranean Sea from adjacent oceans at the end of the Miocene caused an evaporation surfeit that increased the evaporite concentration on the seafloor and peripheral basins. As a result, an up to 2-3 km thick sequence of evaporites were deposited in the center of the deep basins. This coincided with the concomitantly intense subaerial erosion of the adjacent margins. The Messinian salinity crisis (MSC) ended with the catastrophic re-flooding of the Mediterranean. During the Zanclean, slopes and shelves prograded to reach the modern configurations. Neither the widespread erosion nor the regional extent of the very thick halite beds are compatible with a totally desiccated basin. The volume of evaporites deposited in the deep basin also implies a permanent or intermittent connection with the world oceans.